GREENE COUNTY — Authorities opened a criminal investigation after parents said a school employee assaulted their special needs child on his bus.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, Fairborn resident Dustin Jackson said his eight-year-old son, Nathan, who is nonverbal autistic, used to love his school bus rides.
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“It used to be the highlight of his day,” Jackson said. “He would be so excited every time he would hear the bus come around the corner.”
Jackson says a Fairborn City Schools bus usually takes Nathan to and from his home in Fairborn to Sugarcreek Academy in Bellbrook – it’s a Greene County Educational Service Center (ESC) school.
But Jackson says Nathan no longer enjoys his school bus rides.
“The last couple of days he hasn’t really wanted to go,” Jackson said.
And that’s all because of what Jackson said happened two weeks ago Tuesday.
“On January 28, a teacher’s aide from his class really mistreated him getting on the school bus,” Jackson said.
He shared photos with News Center 7 that he says he took that same day. Jackson says they show the injuries Nathan suffered, including a black eye and a swollen knot on his forehead.
Jackson told News Center 7′s John Bedell that on-board bus cameras caught how the injuries happened on video.
“The (Bellbrook Police Department) detective said the footage was so disturbing that they recommended we not watch it because we may not be able to unsee what we see,” Jackson said.
News Center 7 filed a public records request with Fairborn City Schools for a copy of that bus surveillance video. The district denied the request citing federal student privacy laws.
“We’re investigating claims of an eight-year-old student being assaulted on the bus at the school,” Bellbrook Police Department Capt. Steve Lane told News Center 7.
“We have referred that investigation to the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office for a review of possible charges,” Lane said.
“It’s still an active and open investigation.”
Lane added that one uncharged suspect is the focus of the investigation and that everyone else who was on the school bus is considered a witness.
News Center 7 also reached out to the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office. “The matter has been referred for charges and is under review,” Greene County Prosecuting Attorney David Hayes said.
“I want everyone that was involved held accountable,” Jackson said.
News Center 7 reached out to the Greene County Educational Service Center (ESC) for comment and asked about the job title and employment status of the employee.
In an email response, Greene County ESC Superintendent Terry Graves-Strieter said, “It is our general procedure that we do not discuss personnel matters with the media.”
News Center 7 also reached out to Fairborn City Schools for comment since Jackson said the incident happened on one of the district’s busses. A district spokesperson said, “The Fairborn City School District has no comment.”
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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